When did you start training and what do you do now?
Always had a thing for aviation, first computer game was on DOS
Comanche and I think I owned just about every version of MS Flight Sim that came out, plus many of the adds ons, etc. Saved up summer job money etc., and started flying when I was around 14... Thanks to all the MSFS time and my obsession with flying my PPL training I found to be relatively "easy" actually, it was more just self funding $$ aspect of it. As much as I loved flying my family and peers were never that supportive of it as a hobby or as a viable career choice, mainly because it is "dangerous" (ugh) and even though some legacy high seniority folks make bank you are generally limited in total upward $$ potential. This was also around 2004-2008 and the general feedback I was being given at the time was very grim. It was a tough life, live in crashpads, you're exhausted, and you make very little money, and the thread of being furloughed etc., was always looming, at least for the first several years of your career. I did tour some flying schools and laid out some financial roadmaps, etc., in my 20s but the divide between my "real" life and the alternate flying life grew until it got to a point where it just wasn't worth a serious thought. Do you really want to cut your income by 75% and wait 10 years to financially get back to where you are now, all the while pushing through a grueling schedule and moving around? (is the dialog I had). I now work in data science and live in an Excel/SQL/Tableau world and I enjoy the work and I like being able to go flying as a hobby
I'm trying my hardest to remind myself that the money is just a means to an end and the real goal will always be professional pilot. I'm trying to keep my life as free of responsibilty as I can until I become a pilot just so I don't get locked into being an ultrasound tech. That is honestly my biggest concern is that something will happen and I'll have no choice but to stick with my career and watch the planes from the ground.
^Yep, knew that feeling well, watching the Skyhawks, Pipers, and even the airliners cruise by overhead. As much as you can try and direct the course of your life things also happen that change them for you... family dynamics change, work opportunities change, you fall in love, etc.
**But realistically, unless you end up with a health disability flying is always an option, even if just as private GA pilot. There is value in that too, having a steady stable income, home every night for dinner, career flexibility, and the $$ left over to go flying as a hobby so you still get that thrill of flying. My favorite are the 100-300 nm cross countries. Far enough that driving is a pain but close enough that flying commercially doesn't make sense
Either way, don't get discouraged, stick to a plan and push ahead, sounds like you are a little more committed than I was and have a relatively clean course figured out. But remember that if things change and it doesn't pan out as you expected that doesn't necessarily mean bad things or that flying is out of the question
****HECK, and if this means anything one of our old temp's dads had a long and lucrative career in construction, then at 45 plowed through his ratings, flew for a small outfit, and is now flying at JetBlue... and he has a family and everything. So it is never too late!!
